Anderson’s “Can Man” died two years ago, leaving a legacy of donating more than 25 million soda can tabs to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, a new annual event is trying to keep his legacy and his donations alive.

Thousands of aluminum can tabs are being poured into a storage container, ready to be donated to Ronald McDonald Charity House. The tabs were collected by Larry’s Legacy, a charity organization in honor of Larry “Can Man” Van Ness. 

The organization recently hosted a new annual event called Larrypalooza.  It was organized by a close friend of Van Ness, Anderson city councilwoman Rachel Landers.  After his passing, she says it was important to her that his legacy lives on.

“Since he passed away, Ronald McDonald House has let us continue to collect can tabs under what he had built. We’ve reached a little over 31 million can tabs building on top of the 26-and-a-half million that he did before he died.” 

Larry “The Can Man” Van Ness (Photo: Larry’s Legacy on Facebook)

Larrypalooza is a local event free to the public. Visitors can enjoy food, live music, and of course, donate any can tabs they might have.  Last year’s Larrypalooza was designed as a one-time event, but the outpouring positive feedback inspired Landers to make it an annual celebration.

According to Landers, this year over 100,000 can tabs were donated in the name of Larry the “Can Man.”

Landers is also responsible for creating an endowment in Van Ness’s name.  She says the endowment uses its funds to help assist those in need in Madison County, and currently, the fund sits just over $30,000 strong.

The charity organization also has a second account titled the Larry’s Legacy Community Projects Fund. This fund is going to be used to help repair a wall in downtown Anderson, where a mural of Van Ness will be painted. Landers says the funds will also be used to help those struggling to find affordable housing near Anderson.

The RMHC does not keep track of tab donation records but Landers is currently working with the Guinness Book of World Records to get Larry recognized as the man who has donated the most.

Landers is currently stockpiling tabs to break a charity record and donate five million all at once.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu.